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Anonymoose's home, 77 St. Chad's Terrace
Page 1 Anonymoose :Anonymoose looked at all the ingredients laid out on her kitchen table with a furrowed brow. :"Let's see, milk, eggs, flour, oats... what am I missing? Sugar! Of course, how silly of me." :Pulling out the sugar from her cupboards, she began to mix all the ingredients together for a fresh batch of moose cookies. :Just before Clyppie had left town, she had left a wonderful basket full of cookies as a thank you present. There were way too many for Anonymoose to finish on her own, so she had shared some with Jasmyne and other townsfolk. They had become wildly popular, however, and Clyppie wasn't here to make more! :An idea had occurred to Anonymoose that perhaps she should become a baker to ensure a steady stream of moose cookies for the town. But she enjoyed her work as a butcher of affordable meats, and didn't want to give that up. So instead, she decided that she would instead make her own moose cookies at home, and share them with her friends instead of bringing them to market. :"I want to make these special," she thought. She smiled as a wonderful idea came to her and she got to work forming cookies from the batter. :She placed the trays of cookies in her oven and soon the smell of baking cookies wafted throughout the house. Anonymoose opened the windows to let out some of the heat generated by the oven, and the smell of baking moose cookies drifted out the window. When they browned to a lovely golden tone, she took the cookies out of the oven and placed them on the table to cool. :"I think everyone will be excited about these," she said with a pleased smile. :http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i72/ehanonymoose/moose-cookies.jpg Jasmyne :MOOSE COOKIES!!!! AWESOME Tiffanyanne :The delectable smell of cookies wafts across town. Tiff is drawn to it. It's from Moose's house! MOOSE COOKIES!!!!!!! Anonymoose :Anonymoose could see Tiffanyanne drooling through the window, so she opened the door and invited her in. A mysterious floating voice seemed to echo "MOOSE COOKIES." :"Did you hear that Tiff? I hope I didn't imagine it. You can have a cookie but it's a little hot still, so be careful of burning your mouth." Anonymoose :Having no meat to cut in the butcher shop today, Anonymoose decided to stay home and get a few chores completed. The first, and maybe most important of these, was to bake some new batches of moose cookies. They were gaining popularity around town, and Anonymoose was running out. :"At least one batch for our mayor," she thought. "Tiffanyanne has been gobbling them down and this will keep her happy for a little while! Oh and some for the new couple in town, Lord and Lady Izegem. That will make a nice welcome gift!" :As Anonymoose gathered her ingredients and laid them on the table, she said to herself, "Perhaps I should bake a few extra in case any other visitors drop by. You never know what will happen in this town!" Anonymoose :Anonymoose briefly ran home from the festival to pick up more moose cookies. Dashing in and grabbing the last batches, she opened the door and was about to rush back out when suddenly a page appeared with many packages in his hands. :She took the packages and laid them on the table, and tossed the page a coin in thanks. :Opening the note and packages, she grinned and hid the note away for later. Anonymoose :Anonymoose staggered into her house, clutching an empty bottle in her hand. She wasn't quite sure how she got home, but at least there were no drunk monks following her around here. She put the bottle down on the table and sat in the closest chair. :"I should go to bed," she thought fuzzily. :Without realizing it, she laid her head on the table with her arms outstretched on the table top. :"Shleeeeep," she muttered before falling into a drunken doze. Soon, the only sound heard through the house was a quiet snore. BlueMoose :BlueMoose walks by the door, the aroma of Moose Cookies wafting before him. He looks in the window to see anonymoose making another batch of her now famous cookies. He contemplates asking for one, but then struggles with the concept of whether or not it counts as cannibalism. He thinks long and hard and eventually decides to do what he must and asks politely for a Moose Cookie. Anonymoose :Anonymoose had just placed a batch to cool on the table when through the window she saw BlueMoose approach. :Opening the door, she welcomed him in and offered him a freshly baked moose cookie. BlueMoose :BlueMoose walks in and sits down. He gratefully devours the Moose cookies in front of him. Crumbs fly in every direction, creating an unimaginable mess. He then stands up and leaves anonymoose to clean up her house. BlueMoose does not expect to be invited back to anonymoose's any time soon. Anonymoose :Anonymoose's mouth fell open as she watched BlueMoose shove cookies down his throat. :"Wha... Hey... No," she stammered in shock. :She watched as BlueMoose stood up and left without even saying thank you. She stood there numbly for a while before closing her eyes. :Maybe if I keep my eyes closed for a bit, this will all have been proved to be a bad dream. :She opened her eyes again, but her kitchen was still a mess and her cookies were all gone. Anonymoose didn't know whether to laugh or cry. :She gathered up her broom and started to sweep up the crumbs left by BlueMoose. :"Stupid, ungrateful, RUDE," she muttered to herself. "If I see him again he'd better run because I'm going to come after him with my pointy stick! Maybe I should look into getting a sword after all. Then I could really do some damage." Valdrie :Passing by Valdrie could smell something wonderful and he realized he was in front of Anonymoose's house and he realized she was making moose cookie's the smell was so intising and wonderful he found himself on her porch only brought back to the real world by the sound of someone saying something about a sword and damage he very carefully aproached the open door and saw Anonymoose with a broom sweeping up a large what looked like crumb mess everywhere eeks she hadn't yet seen him so he carefully knocked and steped back so as no to get swatted with the broom and said "sorry to intrude but I was passing by and smelled the wonderful cookies and I was going to ask if there was some chore I could do to get one, wow it looks like a cookie crumb storm came through here. Is everything ok here are you ok, what happened to make such a terrible mess?" Anonymoose :"Oh Valdrie, I wish I could offer you some cookies, but they're all gone! I was a good neighbour and offered BlueMoose some fresh cookies, and this mess is how he repaid my kindness. Not exactly a neighbourly thing to do, now is it?" BlueMoose :BlueMoose quickly enters at this point, "Not neighbourly no, but very filling." With that, BlueMoose grabbed the last Moose cookie left on the table and ran off again leaving his victims standing in the doorway. Valdrie :Now that was very rude, and after you were so gracious and offerd those wonderful cookies, I think he is going to be trouble we will half to give Miss Jasmyne a warning too she will have MOOSE COOKIES at the tavern, but for now please let me help you clean up this mess then I shall track do Blue moose and bring him back to apoligize to you for his rude behavior. Page 2 Anonymoose :Anonymoose was surprised to see BlueMoose storm back into her house - so surprised that she had frozen in shock. :After BlueMoose ran out again, she heard Valdrie offer to help with the cleanup. :"Oh thank you Valdrie. He's got me so flustered and upset that I don't quite know what I'm doing. I appreciate your help. And maybe afterwards I'll see if I have enough ingredients for more cookies." Valdrie :Sound good,. I am at your service dear lady and for those heavenly cookies ummmmmmmmmm good Anonymoose :As Anonymoose and Valdrie swept up the last crumbs, she turned to him and asked, "So what do you think I should do to BlueMoose, the traitor to moose everywhere? Tar and feather him? Or should I get Harlan to make me a nice sharp sword?" Valdrie :Well Miss Moose they both sound good and you do have every right to punish him but I really think they would both be considered agianst the law and I wouldn't want you to go to jail for the likes of him so we and I intend on helping in any way, will half to think of some thing that will punish but not get anyone locked up but he does need to be punished. Would you like for me to go hunt him down and bring him back here for you? Anonymoose :"I guess you're right; I wouldn't want to have to arrest myself. Maybe you could take care of it for me while I cool off? In the meantime I could work on the cookies." :Anonymoose put the broom away and began to take out the ingredients. Jasmyne :Jas was walking up to Moose's home when she overheard "BlueMoose, the traitor to moose everywhere?" :She came to the doorway and cracked her knuckles and spoke calmly. Or i could take care of him for you. She had an evil grin on her face. :Anyway i wanted to stop by and thank you for the goods for the tavern and we will complete our deal soon. Valdrie :Turning to see Jasmyne standing in the door and seeing the look on her face , val decided maybe it would be better to step back and said to moose "she loks serious maybe she would be the best person to get him he sure wouldn't be on his guard or running from her But I will be on the lookout for him and who ever get to him first will bring him to you for his just deserts and that dosen't mean more cookies. How does that sound to everyone? Harlan :Harlan arrived in Shrewsbury after the brief stay in Stafford City. On the way home he had gotten word that his friend Anonymoose was concerned for her home's well being while she was still away helping in Stafford. Feeling obligated to check on it for her he made his way to her back door and found the spare key under the flowerpot. He let himself in to check things out. :Stepping inside he immediately noticed the smell of cookies that filled the air. He made his way to the kitchen where he found a tray of baked cookie dough that had not even been cut into their trademark Moose shape. "My she did leave in a hurry." he said outloud. He cut a square from the batch and carried into the living room and had a seat on the sofa to rest a bit before heading home to gather his crops for market. After thoroughly enjoying his cookie, he stood and brushed the crumbs off the sofa and returned to the kitchen. :Apparently all was well in Mooseville so he thought he had better head out. He was about to exit and pull the back door closed when he noticed the barrel sitting in the corner behind the door. Curious, he lifted the lid and peered in. "WHOAH! JACKPOT!" he yelled as he gazed upon the barrel filled to the brim full of moose cookies. "No wonder she's always carrying a bag or two of these things around...this is moose cookie madness!" He grabbed a couple handfulls and stuffed them into his pack. Placing the lid back down slightly askew he stepped out the back door with a grin on his face and locked the door behind him. He placed the key back under the flowerpot and made his way over to his horse, Trevel. :"Hey boy, I got a treat for you!" He removed a moose cookie from his pack and fed it to Trevel, who seemed to enjoy it immensely. After the horse finished and licked his chops appreciatively Harlan jumped on his back and they sped off toward his home. Donnor :Donnor was riding into Shrewsbury from being on the road for a few days and notices Harlan walking out of Anonymoose's home. Slowing his horse to a stop he watches as Harlan comes out and locks the door, placing the key under a flower pot before heading over to his horse. Grinning, he watchs as Harlan rides away before making his way over to grab the key from its hiding spot. He unlocks the door and walks inside carefully. He looks around and smirks. :"Harlan forgot to leave a little mess for Moose." He says to one inpaticular. He makes his way into the kitchen and sees some of the famous moose cookies still on a tray. He grabs the tray and wanders the house looking for the perfect place to eat. He walks into one room and knows that this place would be perfect. Jumping onto the bed he sets the tray down and tries some. Not having much of a taste for sweets he decides on something better to do with them. :Once the cookies had all be crumbled and crumbs were all through out the bed, Donnor stands up and jumps up and down on it just to make sure that he leaves some hair as a present for her. He decides he better leave soon just incase moose decides to return and catches him there. quickly he runs outside and locks the door, putting the key back in its hiding place before jumping on his horse and heading to the tavern for a few drinks. Anonymoose :Anonymoose opened her door, relieved to be home at last. She had just put her bags down by the door when she looked up and saw an empty tray of Moose cookies. :"Strange," she thought. "I could have sworn I left a batch on there to cool when I left the house. Someone's been eating my cookies?" :She looked around her kitchen and noticed the barrel next to the door had it's lid slightly ajar. "Someone's been eating these cookies too?" :She passed through her living room on the way to the bedroom, and was disconcerted to find herself stepping on cookie crumbs. Why were there cookie crumbs all around the sofa? "Someone's been eating my cookies AND sitting on my sofa," growled Anonymoose. :And why was there a trail of cookie crumbs that led to her bedroom?! :Anonymoose stalked into her bedroom and found her bed messed up and crumbs all over the room. :"AHHHHHHH! Someone's been eating all my cookies and sitting on my sofa and sleeping in my bed, and they've messed it all up," cried Anonymoose. "If I find out who's been in here, they're butcher meat!" :~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ :A little while later, after she'd cleaned up the mess and calmed down a little, Anonymoose sat on her cleaned sofa and started to laugh. :"I bet whomever came in here didn't realize all those cookies weren't for human consumption. I hope they enjoyed eating the cookies I doctored for my cow with digestive problems! Somehow, I don't think my intruder realizes the power of prunes." Harlan :Harlan stopped by his friend Anonymoose’ house on his way to the market with the surplus of wheat and corn that had been harvested from his fields during his road trip. :He knocked at the door and stood waiting for some time. While standing there he heard a loud and quite disturbing sound from nearby and looked around to see what it might be. Not seeing the source of the sound, and with no answer at the door, he returned to his horse to fetch a piece of parchment on which to leave a message for Moose. :As he neared Trevel he discovered where the disturbing sound had come from. The horse had been having digestive issues ever since they had left Shrewsbury a few weeks ago and had not been having his regular bowel movements as he should. Harlan thought it might just be that the horse missed being home. They had never really travelled as extensively as they had lately and he figured the horse was “backed up” from the stress and due for a long break when they got back. “Lots of pasture, apples, and carrots are what he’s probably looking forward to.” Harlan thought. : Here in the middle of the path leading to Moose’s house was quite possibly the biggest, smelliest, steaming pile of….dung….that Harlan had ever seen. “Whoah, boy….you must feel better now, aye!?!” Harlan grinned and stepped carefully over to his side pack and removed the parchment and pen for the note. “I sure hope Moose has a big shovel.” Chuckling and shaking his head he returned to the front door and penned a note for Moose. :MOOOOSE! :I’m back in town and just thought I’d swing by to say Hello and thank you for these Moose Cookies. I swiped them from your barrel when I was here checking on your house during the whole Stafford City incident. :Here is the bag containing the remainder…unfortunately they turned stale not long after leaving Shrews and I only got to enjoy a couple. Trevel, however, has thoroughly enjoyed them throughout our trip and thanks you from the bottom of his stomach. :See you in the tavern! :Harlan :Content that would suffice, he placed the note at the foot of the door and set the bag containing leftover Moose Cookies on top of it. As he stood, he heard that familiar sound again and turned in time to see Trevel adding to his deposit on the path. “Trevel!” Harlan exclaimed in an amazed yet concerned tone as he made his way back to the horse and rubbed his nose. “Let’s get you home boy, you need to rest. These crops can wait until tomorrow for the market. Besides…I’d hate for anyone to have to clean up after you in the streets of Shrewsbury!” :Waving one hand in a fan like motion in front of his face, Harlan took the reigns from over Trevel’s head and led him up onto the road back towards home at a slow pace. Anonymoose :Anonymoose stared at the piles of fertilizer and handed her stable boy a shovel. "Stick that stuff in the corn field, will you?" :She walked back into the house muttering, "At least he didn't put it in a sack and set it on fire on my doorstep. He must have fed the horse something special just as he got back into town because those cookies would have done their work LONG ago." Bluemoose :BlueMoose sheepishly wanders back into anonymoose's house to apologise. "I'm sorry anonymoose. I didn't mean to do all those bad things. My blood sugar was low. I hope you can forgive me. I also wanted to say congratulations on your running for mayor and that you have my full support. Anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask. I look forward to a pro Moose leadership." With that BlueMoose turns and walks out the door. Anonymoose :Next time, just ask. I'm usually especially nice to meeses. Jasmyne :Jas stopped by Moose's home on her way to the river, she was still a mess from travelling and the battle. The door was cracked so she took it upon herself to open it further. :I just wanted to say hi and see how you were doing, if im not at home, i will be at Heero's home. Oh and i closed my tavern, i was paying more in taxes than i was making a profit for over 3 weeks, so i decided to close it. :Looking down and her dirty, bloodied clothes then back at Moose. I need to head to the river to cleanup and wash my clothes, should you need me, you know how to get ahold of me, oh and best of luck with mayorial duties, you'll have my vote. :With that, she hugged moose and started for the door Page 3 Twimoa :Twimoa decided that he'd spent enough time cooped up at home and at work so he decided that he should go for a walk. His first, and most important stop, was at Anonymoose' s house. As he approached the home, he noticed two things: First, there was a lady who was just leaving the house, Twimoa waved hello, she smiled and waved, but seemed to be in a rush, so she went of down the bend. The second thing, was the consuming aroma of cookies, he though for a split-second as to what could be the source of the delectable scent, but then he saw a fresh plate of what seemed to be moose-shaped cookies cooling on the window sil. Twimoa made his way to the door and knocked. Anonymoose :Anonymoose had just finished cleaning up the kitchen after baking another batch of cookies when she heard a knock on the door. :"Well hello there! Come on in. Would you like some tea? I have a fresh batch of moose cookies ready too." Twimoa :Twimoa was very surprised at Anonymoose's hospitality. :"Why thank you, tea would be nice, and those cookies smell heavenly." Anonymoose :Anonymoose smiled at the compliment. :"Well thank you very much! I hope you're finding your way around town; we're generally a friendly bunch." Twimoa :" Oh yes, everyone's been very friendly. I am sure I will have many laughs in this town for the years to come!" :Twimoa took a sip of tea and a bite of a moose cookie :" By the way, I just finished unpacking at my house on #13 Smithfield Road if you'd like to stop by." :Twimoa finished his tea, and stood up :"It is getting late, and I must go. Thank you for your hospitality." Anonymoose :"Oh yes definitely, I will come by when I can. Thank you for visiting!" Twimoa :"No, thank you for the food." :"Well now I'm off." :Twimoa went out the door and gave a last wave to Anonymoose, then went off down the road. Jasmyne :Jas and Lyra walk up to Moose's home after smelling the fresh cookies and proceeded to knock on her door. Lyrabeecher :Lyra looked around curiously, a bit amused at the way her new acquaintance has taken her under her wing. Lyra smiled at Jasmyne as they waited for an answer to her knock, "Thank you, Jasmyne. I appreciate your taking time away from your trip to the blacksmith to help me." Anonymoose :Anonymoose walked up to her door after working a long day in the Mayor's office, and found Jasmyne standing there with a stranger who looked vaguely familiar. :"Hi Jas, what's going on?" She motioned Jasmyne away from the door so that she could open the latch and let the two visitors into her home. Jasmyne :Well Lyra here has a few questions for you and i, well, i smelled moose cookies and....umm, can we get a few cookies, Lyra has never had any Lyrabeecher :Lyra smiled and spoke up, "I'm traveling the country trying to find my parents whom I was taken from many years ago. I'm not sure where to find them so I'm asking all over. Have you ever heard of Nicholas or Katie Beecher anywhere? Jasmyne seemed to think you might possibly be able to help me." :Then, the smell of the cookies was too good to not mention. "She's also made me very curious about your moose cookies and they do smell delicious." Anonymoose :"Well have a seat; I made a batch of cookies earlier this morning!" :Anonymoose motioned them to the kitchen table and reached for a jug of milk and some mugs. :"Beecher, huh? Hmmm. That seems to ring a bell...." :She dunked a cookie into her mug of milk and tried to search her memory. :"Actually I seem to remember a man coming through town a while back. His name was Beecher, I think. He was looking for his daughter. I was Sheriff at the time and I remember looking through the visitor notes for him. Do you think he might be related to your Beechers?" Lyrabeecher :"Really?" Lyra was excited. Despite that the information was vague enough that it could have been someone else, she felt that the man Anonymoose was remembering must have been her father. "Oh! That had to be Papa!" :Lyra took one of the cookies and looked at it before taking a bite. It looked a bit like a gingerbread cookie only instead of being shaped like a man, it was shaped like a moose. She took a bite of one of the antlers. Something about eating these cookies triggered a distant memory of eating gingerbread men with Papa. She laughed out loud suddenly at the thought then realized she should explain herself so the mayor wouldn't think she was off in the head. :"When I was little, my Papa used to play a game with me with gingerbread men, pretending that he was an ogre trying to eat them up. It made me laugh so hard. I'd forgotten that but your cookies reminded me." :Lyra took another bite of her cookie then asked, "When the man left Shrewsbury, any idea where he went?" Anonymoose :"These are oatmeal, but I've actually been thinking of making some gingerbread moose too... what a coincidence!" :Anonymoose removed her cookie from the milk before it became too soggy and dropped into her drink, and took a big bite before replying to Lyra. :The man's visit had been a long time ago, and her memory of the incident was a little dim. :"He didn't talk much, to be honest. I don't recall him saying anything about where he'd go next. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him as he left abruptly the next day." :She took another bite of her cookie. :"Oh wait, I think I might have something of his! He left the inn so quickly that he didn't realize he had forgotten something. I had kept it in the sheriff's office but took it home for safekeeping when he never returned. I'll be right back." :Anonymoose got up and walked into her storage room towards a large trunk placed against the wall. :http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i72/ehanonymoose/800px-Walraversijde16.jpg :She began to rummage through the trunk, while mumbling to herself. "So many things in here. I really must sort through all this soon. Ah ha!" :Emerging from the storage room, she placed a small box on the table in front of Lyra. :http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i72/ehanonymoose/westbox2.jpg Page 4 Lyrabeecher :Lyra looked in wonder at the box that Anonymoose had placed in front of her. She ran her fingers over the embrodiery which decorated it. The box did not look familiar to her but since she was so young when she last saw her parents, she didn't worry about not recognizing it. :Looking up at Anonymoose with wide eyes, Lyra almost whispered, "I'm almost scared to open it. I have no idea what might be inside." Lyrabeecher :Slowly, Lyra started to open the box, not realizing that she held her breath while doing so. Her heart was pounding with anticipation for what she might find inside. But all hopes for finding some artifacts that would reveal more of her family's past or how to find them were dashed once Lyra saw the contents of the box. :Some old blank parchment paper, a broken quill and a small knife were all there was to be found inside the box. Lyra sighed. But, of course, if there was something important in the box, her father would have returned to town to retrieve it. These items were easy to forget and leave behind without a second thought. :Lyra tried to hide her disappointment and be gracious as she turned to Anonymoose and said, "Thank you for saving this." Anonymoose :"Not a problem. We get so many travellers coming through that I figure sooner or later they'll come back through again. :You should check the compartment in the bottom of the box however. I noticed the false bottom earlier when I searched for an indication of the man's name or town, but did not want to be too inquisitive." Lyrabeecher :"False bottom?" Lyra echoed. She hadn't noticed that there was a false bottom to the box but on closer inspection she saw what Anonymoose had found. Pushing down on one corner of the inside of the box, Lyra was able to get the inner panel to lift on the opposite side and she lifted out the piece that covered the hidden compartment. :Inside was a rolled up piece of parchment. Lyra spread it out on the table. :http://library.fandm.edu/archives/webpagepicts/1675map.jpg :It was a rather elaborate map of some roadways. Lyra didn't recognize the places that were represented on the map and didn't understand what it was for or why it may have been hidden. Anonymoose :"Oh my," said Anonymoose. "That's an interesting find! What do you suppose it means?" She leaned over for a closer look. Lyrabeecher :Staring at the map while fiddling with her lips with the fingers of her left hand, Lyra was deep in thought for a while. She was pondering what this map could mean. :Finally, she said, in an uncertain tone, "Perhaps it was something that my father was using as he looked for me, or..." Lyra hesitated for a moment thinking about the way the map had been hidden in the secret compartment. "Perhaps it has something to do with why I was kidnapped." She sighed. :"I don't know. It's a mystery, but perhaps I should resume my travels soon to see if I can find any more clues to where my parents are. I'm afraid I may have lingered too long here in Shrewsbury, but it is a very comfortable town." Lyra smiled at Anonymoose. "You have been very kind and hospitable." Anonymoose :Anonymoose looked up from the map at Lyra's words. :"It's been a pleasure to have you here; to be honest I had hoped that you would stay. It seems too often that I am saying goodbye to friends and it would be nice to have a new one stay in Shrewsbury." :She glanced at the map again, and then pointed to a drawing of some trees on the map. :"Those look like fruit trees, and they're near a river. Perhaps that indicates Shrewsbury!" Lyrabeecher :Lyra was touched by Anonymoose's kind words. She thought about the other towns she'd visited since leaving Kendal. There had been friendly encounters but nowhere had anyone else made as much an effort to help in her search for her parents. :"Perhaps I'm being hasty," she said with a smile. "I certainly don't have any specific clues of somewhere else to look and it is very nice to have someone help me try to decipher this map. I suppose I can extend my stay in Shrewsbury for a while longer." :Looking down at where Anonymoose was pointing on the map, Lyra saw what did look like fruit trees near a river. "Hmm, you may be right." She leaned over on her elbows intently studying the map once more. Anonymoose :Anonymoose lifted a corner of the map and peeked at the other side. :"Er Lyra... have you looked at the back of the map at all?" Lyrabeecher :"No, I haven't looked at the back of it," Lyra said with a furrowed brow, puzzled about what Anonymoose may have found. Lyra flipped over the map and spread it out to see the reverse side. "Why? What's there?" Anonymoose :Anonymoose gently turned the map over and showed Lyra what was on the other side. :http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i72/ehanonymoose/castle.gif Lyrabeecher :With a quick intact of breath, Lyra gave a small gasp. "My goodness! It looks like a walled city with a castle. What on earth?" Lyra grabbed her cookie off the plate and chewed thoughtfully while she stared at the drawing and pondered what it and the map on the reverse could possibly mean. Anonymoose :Anonymoose reached for the pitcher of milk and topped up both of their glasses. Taking a sip, she then looked over at Lyra thoughtfully. :"You said you were taken... when and where were you taken? Or did you grow up in or near a castle?" Lyrabeecher :Lyra shook her head slightly as she pulled her eyes away from staring at the drawing and absorbed Anonymoose's questions. She began speaking slowly, trying to remember her early childhood while she spoke. :"Well, I was only seven years old when I was kidnapped... about ten years ago. I have trouble remembering many details from life before because he wouldn't let me ask or talk about anything. If I tried, he'd usually beat me." Lyra frowned and stared at her hands, picking at her fingernails while she struggled to recall things that she'd learned to block from her conscious mind. :"I don't really know where we lived. I think we lived near a small town but I am unsure. I certainly don't remember living in a castle, though there may have been one nearby. I thought we lived on a farm near woods... I do remember having to gather the firewood to help my mother." Lyra paused and took a drink of her milk. :"As far as where I was taken, I remember traveling for quite some time... maybe a few days, maybe a week,... I was so scared and covered by a blanket much of the way, it was hard to know. But since the first town I found after I escaped was Kendal, I presume the hovel he kept me in was somewhere in Lancaster County... or, I suppose, it could have even been in the wilds to the east." :Lyra fell silent, chewing on her lip a bit, her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember anything that could be useful. Lyrabeecher :Lyra roused herself from her reverie with a slightly embarrassed look. "My goodness, I have taken up so much of your time. I am so very grateful that you've allowed me to ruminate on my past here in your home but I doubt that I shall suddenly have a revelation by merely staring at this map here at your kitchen table." :Pushing back her chair and rising to her feet, Lyra curtsied politely and said with a smile, "Thank you very much for sharing your moose cookies and milk with me, as well, Anonymoose. They were very tasty and so unique." :After rolling the map up once again and putting it into the box, Lyra tucked the box under her arm and had a sudden thought. "Perhaps my cousins might be able to make some sense of this map and the drawing you found on the back of it. I think I should go visit and share this with them." :While walking towards the door, Lyra shares one final thought, "I most certainly will return to Shrewsbury, though, and hopefully I will be able to share some tales of successful discoveries." Category:Histories